I've been told by sources (possibly unreliable) that there is a way that I can maximize the amount of hot water my water heater puts out. It only gives me about 20 minutes of hot water at a time. Is there a way I can fix this. I'm renting so I'm not about to replace the damn thing. Thanks for the help.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about then tell me so. I'm looking for a quick fix. Both of my thermostats (upper and lower) are set at 125F.

If you are referring to supplying a shower, thats a long time. Newer water saver showerheads allow 2-1/2 GPM. Even if you use a 50/50 mix of hot and cold water, thats 25 gallons of hot water. If you have a 50 gallon water heater, thats half of the capacity of the tank and then you need to figure that each gallon you use is replaced by cold water and is cooling the water in the tank. I am not aware of any way to "maximize" the unit since all the hot water is coming out of the tank.

You can try draining it and removing any sediment from the tank but, this won't equate to gallons of water, just the efficiency of it's performance. Insulate your hot water pipes to maintain the feed temp to it's destination.

I'm thinking the quickest fix would be to crank up the water temperature, but I wouldn't take it any higher than 140 degrees. That's prolly gonna annoy your landlord cuz the higher the temperature of the water in the tank, the higher the rate of heat loss through the insulation of the tank.

I'm not very familiar with electric hot water heaters. Does the fact that this heater has TWO thermostats mean that it's electric. If electric, where in the tank would the two thermostats be sensing the water temperature? Also, do both electric heaters come on simultaneously when either themostat calls for heat or do they each respond to their respective thermostat?

Saturday, July 04, 2009
MOBILE, Ala. — A woman who suffered third-degree burns after stepping into a shower of 136-degree water has been awarded $750,000 in a settlement of a lawsuit against the apartment manager.

The Mobile County court award to 25-year-old Treon Moorer, in late June, followed mediation with JRS Management Inc. of Florida. The company's lawyer, Larry Matthews of Pensacola, declined comment.

Moorer's attorney, Richard Taylor, said the injury came at her Shadow Oaks apartment in Mobile on June 10, 2007. She had been born with a condition that causes frequent seizures, Taylor said, and suffered one as a result of the shock of the burning water.

He said Moorer was "horribly scarred" from the neck down. Taylor says the water heater industry and burn doctors recommend a setting of 120 degrees.Source Link Click Here

I would not go to 140 degrees without a tempering valve!
I doubt you would find any pro that would!
Lets make sure that the water heater is functioning properly before we get into that area. It would be the landlords responsiblity to do any thing anyway...

Nestor, only one element comes on at a time with the upper thermostat controlling the switching between the two. If the upper T-stat is not calling for heat power is available to the lower T-stat and element.

Redwood: I don't think you read that clip the way I did. It says that this woman suffers from a condition that causes her to have seizures frequently, and when she stepped into the scalding hot shower she had a seisure, collapsed and lay helpless in the tub while 136 degree water sprayed on her unprotected body.

That is hardly "typical". If that woman had checked the water with her hand first and collapsed on the floor, she wouldn't have been scalded.

It takes from 5 to 15 seconds to be scalded by water of 140 and 133 degrees C., respectively. In fact, it takes at least two seconds of exposure to 140 degree water to get a first degree burn, which is the lowest category of burn and which is typically characterized by only redness of the skin and some pain being experienced as a result.

And, my point is that a normal adult can respond to sticking his hand into a 140 degree shower to check the water temperature well within the time it takes him to say one-mississippi two-mississippi to avoid getting even a first degree burn. If that person walks right into a shower without checking the water temperature, then it's going to take longer for him to get out, but that would only happen once. Thereafter they would check. Personal experience is a wonderful teacher.

The elderly and young children are much more susceptible to scalding from hot water. As a person gets older, not only do they respond more slowly to potential dangers, but their ability to respond quickly and appropriately to the peril is often impaired. Often they become so overwhelmed that their minds are simply not able to think of an appropriate response, however simple it might be. This is why water temperatures in nursing homes will normally be set a lot lower than you would set it at in a typical house. Also, young children and babies are more easily scalded because their skin is thinner than adults, so it's a good idea to turn the water heater temperature down in a house where there's children, especially a newborn who can't explain that the hot water is hurting him/her.

I, too, have inadvertantly filled a bathtub up with hot water instead of a mix to get a comfortable temperature, only to have to drain 10 to 15 gallons of heat. But, people don't get into bathtubs like that because even without testing the temperature of the water first, by the time one foot is half way into the water your brain knows the water is too hot and tells the foot to get the he11 out.

140 degrees is the highest I'd set a water heater. As long as that temperature of water is being used by responsible adults, then I don't consider that to be careless or unreasonable. If there were elderly, mentally impaired or young children using that water, I'd turn the heater down to 120.
Everywhere in between is really a matter of personal choice in my view.

For over 20 years I've had my water heaters set at 135 degrees, and so far no one has complained that the water is too hot. If anything, people complain that their showers aren't hot enough. So, what's a guy to do? The higher water temperature makes for more warm showers every morning so that no one has to make do with a cold one.

Still trying to figure out how water in a tank can go to 70% before you would notice a temperature difference. If I have a 40 gallon tank, and add 20 gallons of cold water to it, the temp is going to be noticable. I realize that the cold water goes to the bottom of the tank, but 20 gallons is 20 gallons not matter how you look at it. Getting a 20 minute shower is a good rate.